Iowa should rethink child abuse registry
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From: Greegor on 5 Jun 2010 21:07 http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20100528/OPINION03/5280320/Iowa-should-rethink-child-abuse-registry Iowa should rethink child abuse registry The Register's editorial • May 28, 2010 In November, the Register's editorial page told the story of Greg Geist. After a teenage boy accused him of abuse, the Iowa Department of Human Services put his name on the state child abuse registry. As a result, he lost his job, had to cash out his retirement savings and eventually declared bankruptcy. More than a year later, an administrative law judge found the DHS findings "to be incorrect." Geist's name was removed from the registry - after the damage to him was done. Iowa lawmakers said Geist's story made obvious the need for changes to the abuse registry. Here's another reason change is needed: Last month, an appeals court in North Carolina ruled that state's procedure for placing someone's name on the abuse registry - which is similar to Iowa's process - is unconstitutional. People should have an opportunity to defend themselves before being placed on a list, according to the court. In Iowa, human services workers - not a court - determine who is an abuser. The accused are not allowed an independent review before being placed on the registry. Most of these Iowans are never charged with a crime. They stay on the list for a decade unless they can get their name removed. Meanwhile, being on the list may prevent them from working with kids or getting custody of their children in a divorce. Other Iowans contacted the Register after Geist's story ran. They told similar stories of not being able to defend themselves prior to being added to the registry. One never knew she was on it until she applied for a job. Some callers had gotten into conflicts with their own rebellious teenagers and felt they unfairly landed on the state's blacklist. We shared these stories with lawmakers. One senator said it was wrong for the state to treat people as if they're guilty before they can prove their innocence. Another legislator said people shouldn't lose their jobs while they wait for an appeal. Yet another lawmaker said denying people due process rights was an example of a "real process problem," and she was working on addressing it. They talked about doing something. They held hearings on it. They even drafted legislation. But they made no changes to the law to help Iowans wrongly accused of abuse from being placed on the registry. Rather, lawmakers established an interim committee to study the matter. They should get busy studying because here's another troubling tidbit: Iowa has a population of about 3 million people and 60,000 names on its child abuse registry. North Carolina has a population three times larger - and only 9,000 people on its registry. Something is wrong in Iowa. At the very least, lawmakers must ensure people have adequate due process rights before the state labels them "abusers." Lawmakers need to set a higher bar for placing people on the registry than the current standard of "more likely than not" abuse occurred. Ultimately, this state needs to think carefully about the very existence of a publicly accessible blacklist of tens of thousands of people who were never convicted of a crime. Is it unconstitutional? Does it really protect children? |